This invention is related generally to the field of disposable dishware for serving foods and beveragesxe2x80x94and, more particularly, to the field of combined beverage containers and tray devices for portable use by persons who are consuming meals while xe2x80x9con the go.xe2x80x9d
In the field of prepared-food service and dining, it is very common today for restaurants and other prepared-food outlets to serve people meals, typically made up of one or more food items together with a beverage, in or on disposable containers and/or food-holders of various types (e.g., disposable cups, plates, cartons, trays, wraps, etc.). This is typically done in what is referred to as the xe2x80x9cfast-foodxe2x80x9d industry.
Diners involved in today""s fast-paced living often are not seated at tables which provide horizontal surfaces on which to set their filled containers and/or food-holders. Instead, they are in situations in which no tabletop or the like is available and find themselves standing, driving, or engaged in activities in which it is helpful or required to have at least one hand free for some purpose.
For example, fast-food restaurants, particularly those having a xe2x80x9cdrive-throughxe2x80x9d capability, usually serve a typical customer the customer""s selection of one to three solid food items (e.g., hamburgers or other sandwiches, french fries, onion rings, tacos, pieces of pie) along with a selected beverage (e.g., milkshakes, carbonated beverages, fruit juice or coffee). Sometimes the vehicle driver, particularly if he or she is alone, may find it necessary to hold both the food and the beverage with one hand, while keeping the other hand free for steering and/or other vehicle operations.
Another example is the widely-used practice at many parties and social functions of serving each guest one or more food items on a plate along with a beverage in a cup, can or bottle. If a table or other horizontal support surface is unavailable, the guest may try using the hand which is holding the beverage container to move food from the plate to his or her mouth. Or, the guest sometimes attempts to balance the beverage container on the plate in order to free one hand for eating or some other purpose, such as opening a door or shaking hands with another person. Such practices often tend to be awkward, and can frequently result in spillage and other undesirable consequences. The same sort of problem is frequently encountered at sporting events and other entertainment events where refreshments are consumed by people with no table nearby, regardless of whether the people may be standing or sitting while eating.
The prior art includes many typically-disposable dishware and/or plate-and-beverage-container combinations. However, prior devices fail to adequately solve the continuing problems faced by persons consuming meals xe2x80x9con the go.xe2x80x9d A number of specific disadvantages and shortcomings characterize the prior art, as will be seen by reference to various prior United States patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,820 (Boerner) discloses a plate or tray which interfaces with a centrally-located beverage container via downward extensions from the tray which are either rigid or foldable and which extend along the beverage container. A person using the Boerner device grasps the extension(s) and the container simultaneously. This combination must be gripped in order to remain engaged, and it must be separated in order to drink.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,737 (Patterson et al.) discloses plate-and-glass assembly which allows a person to carry a plate and a centrally-located drinking glass in one hand. The plates and glasses are engaged by what might be referred to as rail, tab or wedge system on the underside of the plate which allows a beverage container to be slidably or twistably received to centrally support the plate. The combination, must be disengaged for drinking purposes, requires customized beverage containers with mating lugsxe2x80x94to engage lugs on the undersides of the plates. This combination is a complex and impractical device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,176,283 and 5,240,136 (both to Patterson et al.) have various disclosures, including one device which is another plate-and-glass assembly which allows a person to carry a plate and a centrally-located drinking glass in one hand, and a more pertinent device which is a plate-cap device having a flat plate overlying the top of an attached cap which can be screwed onto the top of a jar-like receptacle. These devices, including the latter, have complex straw arrangements, and are impractical and uneconomical, difficult to detachably engage and otherwise difficult to use, and problematic insofar as the understanding of users is concerned, whether the users are persons serving or persons dining.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,028 (Patterson et al.) discloses a number of complex plate-and-glass assemblies which allow a person to carry a plate and a centrally-located drinking glass in one hand. The plates and glasses are engaged by what might be referred to as rail, tab or wedge systems on the undersides of the plates, which systems allow beverage containers (e.g., beverage cans) to be slidably or twistably received to centrally support the plate. The devices of this patent include drinking straw ports. These devices are complex multi-part devices which are impractical to manufacture and use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,373 (McKee) discloses a plate which interfaces with a beverage container utilizing a press-fit V-type friction-engagement groove. The plate has a centrally-located upwardly-extending annulus which forms (1) the V-groove on the underside of the plate for frictional engagement with the container lip and (2) a female receptacle on the top of the plate within which to place the bottom of the cup (on top of the plate) or an ashtray. The plate has a central hole to receive a straw. When the container is engaged beneath the plate, the lack of a positive engagement may be problematic, particularly when substantial non-distributed loads are placed on edge portions of the plate. As with certain other prior art, the plate has no means for reinforcement to resist excessive flexing under non-distributed loads.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,207,743 (Costarella), 5,234,125 (Roberts) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,164 (Beck) disclose further combinations in which beverage containers fit within plates via holes through, or raised receptacles in, plates.
Mobile-dining mealholders used in various situations are susceptible to substantial downward loading forces, both from the weight of foodstuffs thereon and from movements which occur during dining. There is a need for an improved mobile-dining mealholder which is of a light weight favoring disposability but which (1) still functions to provide support against such downward loading forces, (2) has excellent detachable engagement to avoid risks of beverage spilling, and (3) instills excellent user confidence with its support and containment functions during usage, even though held by only one hand.
There is a particular need for a mobile-dining mealholder including a beverage container in the form of a bottle, and which is an easily-joined combination that can be economically manufactured, firmly engageable together, practical to use, and easily understood by users.
The following objects of the invention are indicative of various problems and shortcomings in the prior art.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder and mealholder plate-lid overcoming problems and shortcomings of the prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder combination including a ordinary beverage bottle.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder having a detachably-secured plate-lid and beverage container which are held in firm engagement together so that, even when the sole support for the mealholder is by the user""s grasp of the beverage container, solid foodstuffs may be reliably and confidently supported on the plate-lid as dining proceeds.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder having a detachably-secured plate-lid and beverage container which are held in reliable engagement so that beverage leakage and spilling are prevented even during inattentive use by a person consuming a meal held by the mealholder.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder plate-lid which is of one-piece construction and is easily manufactured, readily engageable with an ordinary beverage bottle, yet provides the above-mentioned advantages in detachable engagement with a beverage bottle.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder plate-lid which is readily engageable with ordinary beverage bottles by push-on engagement, regardless of the form of threading on the neck of the beverage bottle.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder plate-lid which, although made of an inexpensive thermoformed plastic piece, resists excessive flexing despite substantial vertical loads thereon from foodstuffs and from dining movements.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder having a plate-lid with a cap portion particularly suited to resist unintended disengagement of a bottle with which it is engaged.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder having a plate-lid with a cap portion which is easily and reliably detachably secured to a bottle.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder with the above-noted advantages and which is formed to accommodate foodstuffs and servings of characteristic shapes and sizes for easy serving presentation and for convenient control during mobile dining.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder with the above-noted advantages and which further serves to shield and maintain the heat of hot food served thereon.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved mobile-dining mealholder allowing convenient control of solid footstuffs and simultaneous easy consumption of a beverage with minimal manual involvement.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions and from the drawings.
This invention is an improved mobile-dining mealholder which overcomes a number of significant disadvantages, shortcomings and problems of mealholders of the prior art, and is a highly convenient tool usable, for example, by the fast-food industry and by people who are dining xe2x80x9con the go.xe2x80x9d The inventive mealholder has two principal partsxe2x80x94a beverage bottle and a plate-lidxe2x80x94which are detachably combined. The invention also involves the plate-lid for use in such combination.
More specifically, the invention is an improved mobile-dining mealholder of the type having a beverage container and a plate-lid detachably combined. The beverage container is a bottle with a substantially cylindrical neck terminating upwardly in a lip, the neck having an outer surface with first engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-spaced positions. The plate-lid, detachably secured to the neck of the bottle, includes two principal portions which are preferably integrally formedxe2x80x94a horizontal cap portion and a tray portion extending therefrom. The cap portion overlies the lip of the bottle neck and has a downwardly-extending substantially cylindrical skirt terminating in a lower edge. The skirt has an inner surface with second engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-spaced positions, thereby to facilitate detachable engagement of the cap portion with the neck of the bottle. The tray portion extends outwardly from the lower edge of the cap portion and has horizontally-arranged food-holding areas arranged about the cap portion.
The plate-lid, with all its characteristics, including those hereafter described, is preferably made by thermoforming of suitable plastic sheets. The thermoformed platelid units are preferably nestable before their use.
In certain highly preferred embodiments, the tray portion of the plate-lid includes at least one food-receiving depressed region formed therein, and preferably two or more food-receiving depressed regions spaced about the cap portion. Some or all of such depressed regions have specified depths and even shapes based upon a selected foodstuffs intended to be served therein. In some preferred cases, a depressed food-receiving region has an opening therethrough to provide flexibility for positioning a particular foodstuff item the shape of which is more readily accommodated by the opening than by the depressed region without such opening.
The tray portion of the mobile-dining mealholder of this invention preferably includes, by virtue of the plurality of depressed regions, vertically-extending portions which are positioned and arranged such that, for each of a plurality of imaginary horizontal pivot lines across the tray portion and adjacent to the cap portion, at least one of the vertically-extending portions is transverse to the pivot line. This provides helpful reinforcement against flexing of the plate-lid about such pivot line.
In certain highly preferred embodiments, the tray portion has an outer edge and a vertically-extending edge portion formed therealong. This provides reinforcement against flexing of the tray portion under loads imposed by food on the tray portion. Some preferred embodiments of this type also include a removable tray cover having a cover edge portion which is configured for placement on the tray portion along the vertically-extending outer edge thereof This positions the tray cover with respect to the tray portion, and helps hold in heat.
In some of the embodiments having a vertically-extending edge portion, the outer edge includes a near edge and a far edge and the cap portion is adjacent to the near edge. In such embodiments it is preferred that the near edge be substantially straight, since this enables the diner to hold the beverage and food nearby to facilitate drinking and eating.
The cap portion of the plate-lid has a straw-receiving opening therethrough for the purpose of gaining access to the beverage.
In certain highly preferred embodiments, the bottle has a shoulder portion extending outwardly from the neck, and the tray portion of the plate-lid includes a shoulder-engagement portion which extends outwardly from the cap portion and is substantially complementary in shape to the shoulder portion. This serves to provide enhanced support for the tray portion; the plate-lid, while engaged primarily with the neck portion of the bottle, is also supported or supportable by upper surfaces of the bottle which underlie larger central portions of the plate-lid. In preferred examples of such arrangements, the shoulder portion of the bottle and the shoulder-engagement portion of the plate-lid both extend outwardly in a downward direction.
The first and second projecting engagement means, on the bottle neck and on the skirt of the cap portion of the plate-lid, may be simple spiral projections which require substantial rotational motion for screwing the plate-lid onto the neck of the bottle, and for later detachment by unscrewing. However, in certain highly preferred embodiments, the first and second engagement means, each of which projects (from the neck and from the skirt, respectively) at axially-spaced positions, are together configured and arranged such that engagement of the cap portion of the plate-lid with the neck of the bottle is of the snap-on/screw-off type. This facilitates engagement of the bottle with the plate-lid including after food is served thereon; in a fast-food service environment, the unique combination of this preferred embodiment indeed makes assembly of such mobile-dining mealholder a very practical procedure.
As indicated above, the first engagement means, on the outer surface of the neck of the bottle, is not a unitary or discontinuous bead around the neck at one axial position; instead, it is one or more projections which is (are) on and around the neck at plural, axially-spaced positions. One example is a single spiral thread which projects from the neck along an axial range of positions along the neck. Another example is an overlapping staggered array of spiral threads, often of small thread height (i.e., the radial extent of projection from the neck), one configuration and arrangement which is particularly useful when the highly preferred snap-on/screw-off engagement is desired.
The second engagement means, on the inner surface of the skirt of the cap portion of the plate-lid, is likewise not at one axial position along the skirt; instead, it is one or more projections which is (are) on and around the skirt at plural, axially-spaced positions. When the first engagement means (on the neck of the bottle) is of the preferred form described in the preceding paragraph (involving an overlapping staggered array of short spiral threads), the second engagement means may also be an overlapping staggered array of spiral threads, again of small thread height (in this case, measured radially inwardly from the skirt inner surface). Such projection arrays are together configured and arranged to provide snap-on/screw-off engagement.
A wide variety of other snap-on/screw-off or other push-on configurations are possible. In one highly preferred form, the second engagement means, which projects from the inner surface of the skirt of the cap portion of the plate-lid at axially-spaced positions, can be an array of flexible, resilient projections configured and arranged to pass over and engage substantially rigid neck threading of various configurations. Such an array serves to provide good attachment and reliable push-on engagement with a wide variety of first engagement means, including the ordinary rigid spiral threads on the necks of many bottles. This allows easy and reliable detachable engagement of the plate-lid with a variety of different standard neck threading configurations used on many different bottled soft drinks, beers and other beverages, and facilitates push-on engagement of the plate-lid with the bottle in a fast-food service environment.
Another preferred embodiment when it comes to mobile-dining mealholders of the type broadly described above involves the first and second engagement means being configured and arranged such that engagement of the cap portion of the plate-lid with the neck of the bottle is of the quarter-turn type. This, too, facilitates engagement of the bottle with the plate-lid in a fast-food environment, including after food is served thereon.
The inventive mobile-dining mealholder described herein also involves the improvement wherein: (1) the beverage container is a bottle having a main portion and a substantially narrower cylindrical neck which terminates upwardly in a lip, the neck having first engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-spaced positions; and (2) the plate-lid includes (a) a substantially horizontal cap portion overlying the lip and terminating in a downward substantially cylindrical skirt which is detachably engaged with the neck, the skirt having second engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-spaced positions, and (b) a tray portion extending outwardly from the cap portion and having horizontally-arranged food-holding areas spaced about the cap portion.
In preferred embodiments of such device, the skirt has a lower edge and the tray portion extends outwardly from the lower edge. In one highly preferred embodiment, the bottle has a shoulder portion extending outwardly from the neck and the tray portion of the plate-lid includes a shoulder-engagement portion which extends outwardly from the cap portion, most preferably in a downward direction, and is substantially complementary in shape to the shoulder portion. This, as noted above, provides enhanced plate-lid support.
This invention is also a mealholder plate-lid as described above for detachable engagement with a bottle having a cylindrical neck which terminates upwardly in a lip and has an outer surface with first engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-spaced positions. As already stated, the plate-lid includes (a) a substantially horizontal cap portion for overlying the lip and having a downwardly-extending substantially cylindrical skirt which terminates in a lower edge and has an inner surface with second engagement means projecting therefrom at axially-space positions for attachment of the skirt to the neck, and (b) a tray portion extending outwardly from the cap portion and having horizontally-arranged food-holding areas about the cap portion, the tray and cap portions together forming a single integral piece. As noted above, the second engagement means which projects from the inner surface of the skirt is preferably configured and arranged for to facilitate engagement with the bottle, most preferably by push-on engagement.
This invention provides a significant change and dramatic improvement in the manner in which xe2x80x9cfast-foodxe2x80x9d meals are presented to people xe2x80x9con the go,xe2x80x9d including, for example, people who purchase xe2x80x9cfast-foodxe2x80x9d meals using drive-through facilities and persons who buy xe2x80x9cmealsxe2x80x9d at sporting events and the like. The invention provides an easy and convenient way to dine in those situations in which a tabletop (to support plates and other dishes) is unavailable.
The two principal parts of the mobile-dining mealholder of this invention are firmly engaged to one another so that, even though support of the mealholder is solely by the user""s grasp of the bottle, foodstuffs are reliably and confidently supported on the plate-lid during dining. The invention provides a reliable engagement of bottle and plate-lid, and this also serves to resist spilling even though the user may be inattentive while consuming a meal.
The plate-lid of this invention, even when made of a thin thermoformed plastic piece, as is preferred, serves to resist excessive flexing despite substantial vertical loads thereon from foodstuffs and from dining movements. Such flexing resistance is provided in various ways. The plurality of food-receiving depressed regions in the plate-lids of preferred embodiments are not only formed to accommodate a variety of specific solid foods and types of foods, but they are configured and arranged to provide reinforcement against the excessive flexing (or collapse) which would otherwise be caused by heavy foods and/or by typical movements during eating.
Specific forms of such plate-lids may readily accommodate a burger, French fries and condiments (ketchup) or a variety of alternatives; other forms are designed to accommodate, e.g., nachos and cheese. Virtually endless varieties are possible to provide mobile-dining mealholders which readily accommodate the needs of nearly any prepared food retailer and its customers.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cmobile-dining,xe2x80x9d in describing a mealholder, refers to the ability to be carried easily in one hand by a person who is eating a meal without sitting down at a table. Of course, the mobile-dining mealholder of this invention may be used in other ways as well.
The use of directional terms like xe2x80x9clower,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9chorizontal,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9chorizontally-arrangedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cvertically-extendingxe2x80x9d refer to the mobile-dining mealholder or its principal parts in their normal usage orientationsxe2x80x94i.e., with the beverage container in an upright position. The term xe2x80x9cvertically-extending,xe2x80x9d used in describing portions of the tray portion of the plate-lid, refers to the fact that there is a change in the vertical position; the term does not require that the portion in question itself be oriented at 90xc2x0 to a horizontal plane. The term xe2x80x9coutwardlyxe2x80x9d as used in referring to the relationship of the tray portion of the plate-lid to the cap portion of the plate-lid refers to an extension from the cap portion in a generally horizontal direction.
The term xe2x80x9cintegralxe2x80x9d used in describing the relationship of one portion of the plate-lid to another means that the portions are not just joined to one another, but are formed together, such as in a thermoforming or other plastic fabrication process.
The term xe2x80x9cimaginary horizontal pivot linesxe2x80x9d refers to a mathematical line; it is imaginary only in the sense that it does not involve any visible indication. The term xe2x80x9ctransverse,xe2x80x9d of course, means across or at an angle to something, but not necessarily at an angle of 90xc2x0.
The terms xe2x80x9cnear edgexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cfar edge,xe2x80x9d used in reference to portions of the outer edge of the plate-lid, refer to the edges which are, respectively, closest to and farthest from the body of the user during dining.
The term xe2x80x9cengagement means,xe2x80x9d used in referring to projection(s) from the outer surface of the neck of a bottle or from the inner surface of the skirt of the cap portion of the plate-lid, does not mandate any particular form or arrangement of projection(s), or any degree of continuity or discontinuity of projecting structures.
The term xe2x80x9cpush-on,xe2x80x9d used in describing the motion sufficient for attachment of a plate-lid to a bottle, refers to an axial motion not requiring any rotation. The same thing is intended when the term xe2x80x9csnap-onxe2x80x9d is used with respect to the attachment motion. The terms xe2x80x9csnap-onxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cpush-onxe2x80x9d have essentially the same meaning; the former term is used at some points of this disclosure because of its usage in the art in reference to caps.
The term xe2x80x9cshoulderxe2x80x9d does not imply any specific shape; that is, it does not imply a profile which includes surfaces at 90xc2x0 to the axis (of the bottle or plate-lid). Instead, it refers to outwardly extending structures which are broader than the neck of the bottle or the cap portion of the plate-lid.